20 years ago SE1 was seen as a post-industrial wasteland and people who moved here did so with their eyes open. I know that when I came to Tanner St I looked long and hard at what was going on around me. At that time the building next door contained a small printing works, as did the building on the other side of the road. The noise that those businesses produced was part of the package and I considered the price a small one to pay.

It makes me wonder how today's homebuyers go about the task of assessing the pros and cons of a potential purchase.

Ticino Bakery, on Bermondsey St next to Gemini House, had their lives made very difficult by newcomers in Gemini House because the bakery had 'noisy' extractor fans. But the bakery had been there for at least 30 years and was fully funtional when Gemini House was converted to residential. So how did these newcomers miss the fact that there was a long established business next door which created a certain level of noise as part of its business activity.

Welcome Lulu, you'll soon get your "noise filter" working. I live off the Old Kent Road and am no longer aware of the ambient clamour from traffic/aircraft/firestation unless I concentrate. However, whenever I visit my vast pile in the Forest of Dean, I'm driven to distraction for a couple of days by the neighbour's cockerel and the plangent baa-ing of the woolly bears until the filter kicks in again. I hope you enjoy living here.

My original post on 'Noise levels on Winchester Walk' seems to have generated a good deal of comment and a degree of irritation.

For the record, I'm really looking forward to living in the area. I think Southwark cathedral and the bells give the place a special feel and I love the market. I think some of you may have misunderstood.

I have no wish to change the area , I'm not a fan of Starbucks or Laurence Lwellyn-Bowen and I have no intention of moving to the country.